Wild Card victory: A great game of “should haves”

Hoyer’s inexplicable interception at the goal line

As I noted above, the Texans had a lot of turnovers in this game. But what had to be the single worst came during the second quarter when Houston had a first down on the Chiefs two yard line. At that point K.C. had a 13 – 0 lead, and a touchdown would have altered the tone of the game dramatically.

The Texans should have scored. I think that is fair to say about pretty much any team that has a first down on their opponent’s two yard line. It is no guarantee, and a defense stuffing the offense is by no means an unheard of event. But that was not what happened here. Instead, Brian Hoyer threw a pass that had to have made the Cleveland Browns feel they made the right decision in cutting him, as Josh Mauga grabbed an interception on right around the line of scrimmage.

Now, I will credit the Chiefs defense for doing something that has been a hallmark of their dominance of this 11-game winning streak – taking advantage of the opponent’s mistakes. When the Texans messed up here, Mauga made them pay. But there was also a decent amount of luck in getting that pick.

Hoyer’s woes throughout the game were noted by both the commentators, and the halftime analysts on ESPN. He ended the game completing only 15 of 34 passing attempts for 136 yards. He had no touchdowns, and committed all five of his team’s turnovers. But on this particular throw, he might as well have said he wanted to turn the ball over, as it seemed zeroed in specifically on Mauga.

Next: Too much yellow